Several Catholic churches participated in Big Sunday, the annual weekend of city-wide volunteerism sponsored by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaragosa.
More than 100 adults, youth and children from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles participated in neighborhood cleanup activities April 29.
"We went out to our surrounding streets with brooms, shovels, and trash bags," said Father Rodel Balagtas, pastor. "We care about our environment and we want to reach out to households, businesses, and neighbors. Not just making the neighborhood clean and safe, but also taking care to be in relationship with each other and breaking through our differences --- age and culture, language and faith. We are one community."
The parish's cleanup efforts were coordinated by Melissa Ager, youth ministry coordinator, and Mariela Morales, religious education coordinator. The City of Los Angeles provided two guest speakers who discussed "untagging," a reference to eliminating graffiti, as well as recycling. As a result, 15 people volunteered to serve as block captains to report graffiti.
"We need to create real partnerships in the community like the one that we saw this weekend with Immaculate Heart of Mary," said Alejandra Marroquin, field deputy from the office of Councilman Eric Garcetti. "It is through partnerships that we see our ability to tackle real problems and come up with real solutions."
More than 200 students and parents of Sts. Peter and Paul School in Wilmington created a new garden in the midst of the school grounds. Volunteers also painted bricks used as a border for the garden beds. The garden will serve both to beautify the school for the enjoyment of all and as a place for students to grow flowers and vegetables as they conduct science experiments and study plant biology.
School parents Carrie Saffell and Stephanie Moralez coordinated the project. The school received donations of materials and advice from the City of Los Angeles and the mayor's representative Ricardo Hong.
This project is a part of the school's overall plan to create a "greener" school community, said principal David Burroughs. |